


care & feeding

by glim



Series: sleeping lessons [5]
Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, Captain America Steve Rogers/Modern Bucky Barnes, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Hurt Steve Rogers, M/M, Protective Bucky Barnes, Sick Steve Rogers, Sickfic, Steve Rogers Feels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-07
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-13 12:29:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29901102
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glim/pseuds/glim
Summary: Bucky hasn't seen Steve hurt and sick before today, and something inside his chest swells with tenderness at the sight of Steve's sleep-rumpled hair and pink nose. Bruise-dark shadows have settled in beneath his eyes, testament to how run down this mission left Steve, too, and how being sick has drained him.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers
Series: sleeping lessons [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1024494
Comments: 15
Kudos: 121





	care & feeding

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to Peach for reading & encouraging :)

Bucky's halfway through his Thursday afternoon office hour, talking to one of his senior seminar students about their midterm essay, when his phone vibrates with a text. He apologizes, then pauses when he gets a second and third message. Usually, he'll ignore his phone during meetings and office hours, but he's been waiting for Steve to get back from a four-day mission that spilled over into a whole week. Waiting three days for Steve to come home has left Bucky on edge; he's kept his phone close through his classes and meetings this week. 

"I'm so sorry," Bucky says at the renewed buzz of his phone as he reaches for it. "I should check those..." He frowns as he scrolls through his messages when he sees they are all from Steve and that even his text messages sound exhausted. 

_Just got back to the city--only three hours late this time. Missed you, too, Buck, something awful._

_I had to stop at med before debrief. I've got some kind of head cold thing. They did blood tests for the serum. I'm wiped out._

_Staying at the Tower, tonight, I think._

"Sorry," Bucky says again, then nods gratefully when his student smiles in reply. "It's my partner. He's had a ... a rough week at work. Just give me a minute." 

That sounds like a good plan. I'll be done at work around two and can come stay for the weekend. 

Steve's reply takes a minute; Bucky frowns again after it arrives. 

_You don't have to. I'm kind of a mess._

Steve's not deferential about being hurt or vulnerable in front of Bucky, though he's still shy about all the attention Bucky wants to give him when he's injured and overcome with fatigue. If he's sick in addition to the usual post-mission exhaustion, well... 

_But I want to. I'll call you when I'm finished. Try and get some rest, Stevie._

Shifting his focus to his students' research and analysis of the Cold War history proves a harder task than Bucky thought it would be now that he knows Steve is home. Bucky lasts through two more student meetings before he can call Steve; relief floods his chest when Steve picks up the phone and Bucky can hear his voice. 

"How bad are you feeling?" Bucky asks after they say their hellos. "Did med give you anything?" 

Steve clears his throat and Bucky can hear how much that has to hurt. "Not too bad? I've definitely felt worse," he says, then adds: "A box of tissues and some electrolyte drinks. Ibuprofen." 

"Okay..." Bucky stops himself before he asks how many vials of blood they pulled from Steve to see how his body and the serum deal with whatever virus he picked up. He's pretty sure he hates the idea of Steve Rogers, Science Experiment at least twice as much as Steve does. "I only have a quick thesis advisor meeting this afternoon, then I'll come over. What do you need me to bring you?"

"You don't need to bring anything," Steve says. "It's not so bad. I think mostly--" Steve breaks off to cough a good few times in a row. "Sorry, mostly, I got kind of banged up at the same time." 

He sounds _awful_. His voice is scraped raw and roughed up with congestion. Bucky winces at the sound, and at how it sounds as if Steve had to force the words out. 

"It doesn't matter how bad it is. Or _isn't_. I always look after you when you're not feeling good, Steve," Bucky adds and doesn't stop the worry from softening his voice. It's only been a week, but a week is long enough that he misses Steve, his smile and his eyes and the warmth of his body curled next to Bucky in bed. "Stay at the Tower, and I'll come stay with you, okay?" 

Steve's quiet for a few moments, then he coughs again, and Bucky hears him sigh, weary and frustrated with himself. Bucky can picture the look on his face, the frown-crease between his eyebrows, the glint behind the glassy exhaustion in his eyes. 

"I don't want to get you sick," Steve says after a huff of a sigh. "I'd hate if you ended up with this because of me." 

"I've had colds before. You made me soup last time," Bucky murmurs. He's already putting together a grocery list in the corner of his desk calendar: chicken, soup vegetables, juice, bread, Kleenex. 

"Yeah... yeah, I did. That was nice." The frustration fades from Steve's voice. "You really don't want this, though. It's gross. _I'm_ gross." 

Bucky can't help but laugh a little. He just misses Steve so much that his chest aches with the missing and the longing to see for himself how sick and hurt Steve is. "I want to see you, though. Even if you're gross and coughing at me and blowing your nose. I'll come over and make you soup this time. With those little noodles you like." 

Steve's quiet again, then he makes this hoarse little tired sound, rough at the back of his throat. "Okay, Buck. That... that sounds really good." 

"Should I bring dinner? Or do you feel up to cooking something with me?" 

"Mhm.... actually? You probably should. Or I could order groceries?" Steve offers. He's starting to get that run down sound to his voice that he always gets after missions where he goes too long without sleep. "Not sure what I have here besides oatmeal, and some tea. Some rice and frozen stuff, I guess." 

"That's probably the tea I got you. When you busted your ankle." 

"I think so? In the red box? And the green tea with lemon..." 

Bucky leans back in his office chair and imagines the look on Steve's face now as his voice dips low and fond and he sniffles a little. "You should make yourself some. Have a cup of hot tea." 

"Maybe I'll do that. I had a sandwich and coffee after med, but..." Low and fond and tired, and with that faint catch at the back that reminds Bucky he's sick.

God, _all_ Bucky wants to do is wrap Steve up in the warmest blanket and then wrap himself up around Steve so they're both snug and safe for the rest of the weekend. Just create a cozy, soft place for both of them to stay while Steve recuperates. 

"We'll order dinner and groceries together after I come over. You get some rest, sweetheart." Bucky talks to Steve for a few more minutes, listening to him make himself a cup of tea and then get comfortable on the sofa again. He'd stay on longer, but his next appointment is due to arrive, and about the last thing Bucky wants to share with his students are the soft moments he has with Steve. 

The few affectionate texts from Steve that he has waiting for him after the meeting make up for the wait, however. Steve even sends a picture of his tea and sketchpad, and one of him stretched out on the sofa with the blankets he and Bucky picked out to make his Tower apartment more comfortable. Sketches of plants and clouds, and a rough sketch of the two of them on a park bench. 

Even though he's sure Steve's dozing off if not napping, Bucky sends him a few texts and a picture of his desk, still covered in papers and books, as he leaves his office. 

_Be home soon, Stevie. I'll make you another cup of tea when I get there._ ❤️

* * *

Getting into the Avengers Tower without Steve to sign him in is something of an ordeal. Yet, the screenings and security protocols are worth Steve not having to stay awake and wait for Bucky to arrive. Which is exactly what he would do, no matter how much Bucky urged him to sleep. He'd come down, shivering and coughing and achy, and pretend it was nothing.

His sketchbook and a couple pencils are still atop the blankets when Bucky gets to Steve's apartment in the Tower and finds him asleep on the sofa. He's snoring a little, curled up on his side around a pillow, and Bucky can't help but watch him for a few minutes. One foot sticks out from the blankets, toes twitching every so often in his sleep, and Bucky has to tuck the edge of the blue fleece over it lest he worry over how chilly Steve is. 

Once he puts his backpack aside and gets rid of his coat and shoes, Bucky goes to change and wash up a little, pull his hair out of the bun he's had it in all day and change his jeans for sweats. He makes himself a cup of tea, but waits to make Steve another until he's had some more rest. 

When he gets back to the sofa, Bucky slips Steve's pad and pencils from the sofa, and places them on the coffee table. He flips through a few of the pages, too, and smiles at how distinctly Steve all the drawings from today are. Rough sketches and winding vines and a half-setting sun. 

"Hey..." Bucky sits down on the edge of the sofa and rubs Steve's leg gently through the blanket. "Hey, sweetheart, it's just me." 

Steve stirs awake slowly. He makes a few small coughing and snuffling sounds, evidence of how bad his cold already is, and scrubs his face against the side of arm. His eyes are still bleary with sleep when he notices Bucky and try as he might, he can't seem to clear that bleariness away by rubbing at his face or clearing his throat. 

"Hey," Bucky says again. "You should try and get some more rest. I just wanted you to know that I'm here." 

"Yeah, Buck?" Steve says. He looks so sleepy and confused, though, and knuckling at his eyes does nothing to dispel the impression. "Missed you a lot." 

"Yeah. Go back to sleep, okay? You're sick, sweetheart." Bucky rubs his hand up and down over Steve's leg through the blanket, keeping his touch gentle and light, and smiles when Steve's eyes start to droop shut. When he's nearly asleep, Bucky leans in closer and presses a kiss to his forehead. "Missed you, too." 

Steve sighs and settles into his nest of blankets and pillows on the sofa. By the time Bucky leans away to fix his covers, he's already asleep again and only stirs a little when Bucky tugs a fleece blanket up over his shoulders to make sure he stays warm. 

Usually, Steve only sleeps like this when he gets injured on a mission and runs himself down to last dregs adrenaline-powered energy. He'll come home achy and exhausted, sometimes bruised up so bad that Bucky has to map kisses over each sore spot to relax them both. Bucky's seen Steve have to spend a few days napping on and off to heal through a wrenched ankle, cracked ribs, and who knows what else. 

Bucky hasn't seen Steve hurt _and_ sick before today, and something inside his chest swells with tenderness at the sight of Steve's sleep-rumpled hair and pink nose. Bruise-dark shadows have settled in beneath his eyes, testament to how run down this mission left Steve, too, and how being sick has drained him. 

Bucky tucks the blanket up closer to Steve and strokes his thumb over the rise of Steve's cheekbone. Sleep will do him more good than anything else, but Bucky has plans for soup and tea and as many fluids as he can get inside his boyfriend. Warm drinks and warm blankets and Bucky, curled up around him to make sure he stays that warm and rests as much as his body needs him to. 

For now, though, Bucky settles for curling up on the sofa with Steve's feet tucked into his lap and the blanket over them, with his tea and a book. He's spent so many hours reading while Steve sleeps off mission fatigue that the comfort he feels is a familiar and reassuring one. When Steve fusses in his sleep, Bucky rubs his hand up and down Steve's leg through the blankets without putting his book aside. Even with the quiet snores and coughs, Steve's breathing is a soothing rise and fall next to him and his body is warm and solid and _safe_. 

Bucky glances away from his book to watch Steve again when he stirs once more, restless this time, and puts the book aside when Steve curls into a series of harsher, stronger coughs. He keeps going long enough for Bucky to help him sit up against the sofa cushions and to offer Steve the rest of his cooled off tea. 

A wince of pain crosses Steve's face as he sits up, tightening at the corner of his jaw, and only relaxing after Bucky rubs his back a little. Bucky presses the cup of tea into Steve's hands and rubs his back through the few careful sips he takes, then leans in and presses a kiss to his shoulder. 

"How banged up is _kind of banged up_?" When Steves shrugs, Bucky strokes his back through his tee shirt and reaches up to pet the soft, fine hair at the nape of his neck. "You look pretty sore." 

When Steve attempts to reply, his voice comes out thin and strained, dull with congestion and coughing. He clears his throat and rests a hand on his chest as he heaves a tired sigh. 

"Maybe amend that to _pretty banged up_. Everything is sort of ...." His voice trails off, uncertain, and then a frown creases between his eyebrows before he turns away from Bucky. When he sneezes, the sound is as rough as he coughs, and Steve winces again and rubs his throat as he turns back. "Achy," he finishes, like he has to force the word out. "Bruised up." 

"Bless you. _Steven_ ," Bucky says, undisguised worry back in his voice. "How could you even think I would let you spend the night alone like this?" 

"I just didn't want to get you sick. I really do keep coughing and blowing my nose." He sounds more than a little miserable at the admission and his shoulders droop as Bucky strokes the nape of his neck again. He has to reach for the box of tissues med sent him home with and he almost looks apologetic as he pushes a handful against his face. 

"I bet it hurts to do both, too. You know I'll take care of you," Bucky adds and pets Steve's hair again after he goes sweet and shy for Bucky. "C'mere, come rest with me and help me pick out dinner and groceries." 

Unabashed, Steve ducks his face against Bucky's shoulder and stays tucked in close for a good few seconds. He only moves to get more comfortable, and then to rub his face against Bucky's shoulder after they cuddle in against each other on the sofa. Bucky's careful to make sure Steve's still comfortable, his head nestled into the crook of Bucky's neck and shoulder, and that he has tea and a box of tissues close by. 

"You don't need to get all that," Steve murmurs as he watches Bucky add tissues, decongestants, and ibuprofen to their grocery shopping cart. "Maybe the tissues," he adds when Bucky gives him a look. "I just--I don't know if cold medicine will even _work_ for me." 

"Maybe it'll help you sleep. You need the painkillers to take the edge off at least." Bucky doesn't remove any of the items from his cart, though, and even adds some cough drops and more tea. 

He has ingredients for chicken noodle soup and a pasta bake, along with some staples, and he doesn't have any problem getting Steve to agree to Chinese food for dinner. They both prefer the small restaurant by Bucky's place, but Bucky knows he won't have any trouble getting Steve to the wonton soup and lo mein, and the beef and sliced vegetables will be good for lunch tomorrow, too. 

When Steve gets up to use the bathroom, Bucky gets up to make them both more tea. The green tea with lemon this time, and some honey also leftover from the last time Bucky stayed here with Steve. Med had him on mega painkillers that time, strong enough that tea and toast and applesauce were all he managed for about a day.

At least he's willing to eat soup and noodles this time, Bucky thinks, and looks up from the steam twisting from their mugs when Steve pads into the tiny kitchen. Along with the white tee shirt, he's wearing a pair of Bucky's NYU sweats, his hair sleep rumpled and feet bare. His broad shoulders and strong chest do nothing to obscure how sweet he looks like this, soft and vulnerable and a little needy. 

Affection floods Bucky's chest, enough to tighten his throat. Steve can take care of himself, Bucky knows this, and even if taking care of himself means sleeping off fatigue and a head cold. The thought of Steve having to do any of that by himself--falling asleep on the sofa and waking up to a chilly living room, of sitting up in bed alone when he's too congested and achy to sleep--is almost too much for Bucky. He tugs Steve in by the hem of his tee shirt, then leans in to press a kiss to his warm cheek. 

"Hmm?" Steve leans into the touch and when he rests his forehead against Bucky's, he closes his eyes. "I could probably take another nap..." 

"After you have some more tea, we can both doze off for a while." Bucky gives Steve another kiss, soft and gentle at the corner of his mouth. "Sofa?" 

"Sofa." 

Steve nods and it's only a minute before they're back beneath the blankets. The early spring afternoon is chilly as the sun sets, but the nest they've made themselves on the sofa is perfect. Steve really does doze back off, his head against Bucky's shoulder again, this time as Bucky strokes his hair. 

"You know I worry about you," Bucky murmurs. He turns to press a kiss into Steve's hair and rubs his face into it, letting worry flicker through, then relief crowd into his heart when Steve slides an arm around his waist. 

"I'm so glad you're here," Steve mumbles against Bucky's shoulder. For all that he's nearly asleep, the reply is heartfelt and whole. "Taking care of me." 

"Like I could do anything else." A smile settles on Bucky's face, content spreading through him as he feels himself relax. He nuzzles against Steve's hair again and Steve's arm around him tightens, then eases into a safe, secure weight around his middle.


End file.
